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Rosa Parks, whose name is forever linked with the civil rights movement, never intended to be a hero, a leader or a symbol. She was simply a black woman who had suffered one indignity too many. Years of living as a second-class citizen caught up with her on that historic day.
On December 1, 1955, after a long day at work, Parks took a seat in the fifth row of a Montgomery bus. That was the first row where blacks were allowed to sit so long as no white person was standing. Three stops later, the bus was nearing capacity and there were no seats open in the front of the bus for whites.
The black riders in the middle of the bus were told to go to the back. All did except for Parks.
The enraged driver put the emergency brake on and demanded that she go to the back, but Parks quietly refused. The driver got off of the bus, returned with a policeman, and the rest, as they say, is history. Parks received a fine of $14, a fine she appealed. It would take a huge effort and a year's time, but in the end, the Supreme Court ruled Montgomery's segregation laws to be unconstitutional.
While the case was pending, a boycott of the Montgomery busses was called for and led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Because black riders represented 75% of the ridership, this would cost the bus company enormous financial losses.
Many years after the incident, Parks was asked why she had done it.
"Have you ever been hurt and the place tries to heal a bit, and you just pull the scar off of it over and over again?" she explained.
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